Russia claims that the T-14 Armata is one of the most advanced main battle tanks developed in recent years, but it has been dubbed the Russian army’s “ghost weapon” due to the reluctance of the military command in Moscow to send it to Ukraine just yet.

One of the Russian state news agencies RIA “Novosti” reported that Russia for the first time began using T-14 “Armata” tanks to attack Ukrainian positions, “but they have not yet participated in direct assault operations,” a source with information said. from within the Russian military command.

Due to the fact that part of the information about this tank is a state secret of Russia, some of its technical characteristics are completely unknown.

But it is reliably known that the T-14 “Armata” tank is 8.7 meters long, 3.9 meters wide and 2.7 meters high, and its weight is at least 55 tons.

A big advantage of the T-14 Armata tank

The tank crew consists of three people: the mechanic who controls it, the gunner and the commander. It is believed that it can reach a maximum speed of 90 kilometers per hour, although the information here is contradictory. RIA Novosti, for example, in an article about the placement of the tank in Ukraine, writes that its maximum speed on the highway will be only 80 kilometers, which means that it will be even lower on the battlefield.

But the most interesting thing about this tank is its unmanned turret. None of his tankers are in the tower. Instead, they are located near the front of the tank.

This design allows you to reduce the turret and strengthen the armor around the most important parts of the tank, such as the crew compartment. In theory, the T-14 Armata does just that thanks to an armored “tube” around the combat compartment.

And unlike most Russian tanks, this model stores its ammunition away from the crew, protecting it in the event of an enemy strike that would otherwise lead to a catastrophic detonation of the shells inside, a situation that led to the famous video footage of the Russian combat “Turret Throwing Contest” techniques

But the unmanned tower has disadvantages, the most noticeable of which is that the entire crew is located lower in the tank, which means that the situation on the battlefield suffers significantly for the commander.

The Russians say their main battle tank can hit any target on the move

The T-14 “Armata” has an active hydraulic suspension system, which, according to its designers, even at full speed allows the crew to achieve an accuracy rate of almost 100 percent.

Russian engineers also claim that the army has an electronic diagnostic system that can instantly report any technical problems it encounters, alerting the crew to the current situation.

In terms of armament, the tank has a 125 mm 2A82 gun, a newer version of the 2A46 used on a number of Russian tanks, from the T-72 to the T-90. This new type of gun can fire a variety of munitions, including guided missiles.

If necessary, the gun can be quickly replaced with an extremely powerful 2A83 model of 152 millimeters caliber, originally developed for the 2C19 Msta-S self-propelled guns. The Armata is also equipped with surface-to-surface missiles and a 7.62 mm machine gun located in the upper part of the turret and controlled autonomously.

The automatic tank loader has a capacity of 32 shells and a rate of fire of 10-12 shots per minute. Even if the ammunition is stored under the turret, as in previous Russian tank models, the crew can theoretically withstand a “softer” detonation of the on-board ammunition, since it is stored in a separate compartment.

But a catastrophic detonation cannot be completely ruled out.

Impressive armor of the T-14 tank

What makes this model of a Russian tank really special is that its designers paid a lot of attention to survivability. In addition to sealing the crew in an armored “bubble” and storing ammunition in its own compartment, the steel used to build the combat vehicle is said to be the strongest and lightest Russia has ever built.

Tests conducted by Russian engineers have shown that the steel alloy used for the T-14 Armata is 15% lighter than previous armor, but stronger and much less brittle. Its developers claim that the armor provides the crew with the equivalent of 1,000 millimeters of protection.

Added to this alloy is modern dynamic armor (DAM), plus the so-called “Afganit” protection system, which consists of two parts: a radar detection system and anti-missile munitions. Obviously, its purpose is to protect the tank from enemy shells and missiles fired at it.

However, a critical oversight by Russian designers is the T-14 Armata’s ability to counter downward-trajectory anti-tank weapons such as the Javelin top-attack systems, which proved extremely effective during the war launched by Vladimir Putin on February 24 last year. year.

Another problem is that until Western observers have access to an analysis of such a tank, most of the impressive specifications come from what the Russian arms industry says about the tank.

And as the invasion of Ukraine showed, many of Moscow’s weapons looked better on paper than in reality.

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